All About The Olympus E-510 Thread

[microcosm]

not only confusing but make searching specific topics difficult, need to look thru a whole heap of posts.

also didn't understand why most specific Oly things r in 4/3 sys sub forum. its like just having "Medium Format" & "35mm Format" so all 35mm brands (canon, nikon, pentax, ricoh, oly, minolta, chinnon, etc) go under one roof.

sorry for the ranting...

Having multiple threads with relating stuff is also confusing isn't it? We can go on like this forever. Anyway, its house keeping. Will think of a better way. Better to give solution than to look at problems. Everyone can see a problem, only a few good men can give a good solution... any to offer?

 

[wind30]

Having multiple threads with relating stuff is also confusing isn't it? We can go on like this forever. Anyway, its house keeping. Will think of a better way. Better to give solution than to look at problems. Everyone can see a problem, only a few good men can give a good solution... any to offer?

Personally, I feel that it is better to have multiple threads as it is. Example, there can be a thread on setting of AF in the E510. Another thread on where to find accesories for the E510. Anther thread on latest promotions on the E510, etc. Because when we do a search on E510, we can see the SUBJECT title of each thread listed and go to the relevant threads. Combining everything in one thread will just give me a useless thread (TWENTY-TWO pages long) when I search for E510..... As long as the thread has a clear subject title and relevant postings which is not OT or misleading, it should be kept as it is.

Besides olympus forum doesn't really has that many threads to warrant such housekeeping measures.

Anyway this is just my personal POV and nothing against you as a superuser. I think the 4/3 forum is getting much better with regular gatherings and more people participating due to your efforts.

 

[microcosm]

Personally, I feel that it is better to have multiple threads as it is. Example, there can be a thread on setting of AF in the E510. Another thread on where to find accesories for the E510. Anther thread on latest promotions on the E510, etc. Because when we do a search on E510, we can see the SUBJECT title of each thread listed and go to the relevant threads. Combining everything in one thread will just give me a useless thread (TWENTY-TWO pages long) when I search for E510..... As long as the thread has a clear subject title and relevant postings which is not OT or misleading, it should be kept as it is.

Besides olympus forum doesn't really has that many threads to warrant such housekeeping measures.

Anyway this is just my personal POV and nothing against you as a superuser. I think the 4/3 forum is getting much better with regular gatherings and more people participating due to your efforts.

Firstly, as everyone celebrates 4/3 system getting more and more popular, then it is only natural that we have the Four Thirds section... where you want to place topics like Metz Flash? (Multipost in Panasonic and Olympus?), same goes for Sigma... under "Others", Olympus and Panasonic? I don't fancy moderating three sections at the same time. While some kids have time to be on the forums almost 24/7, I have a family which needs my time as well. This is why the birth of Four Thirds. I hope to have your understanding on this matter.

As it is, most forum users have no ideas how many misplaced threads in Olympus, Panasonic, and Four Thirds are being moved all over the place on a daily basis. That is a lot of work, plus the requests to edit, remove, move posts and threads.

Moderation work is like community service. I gladly do it, but at the same time, I have to think of ways to be more efficient so that I don't have to be at the computer all the time. Like I mentioned earlier, I have work and family commitments.

As for the E-510 thread, I merged threads because not all thread starters know how to name their threads properly...

Almost 40% of the time, I have to rename threads to make them make sense. This is something that I do not want to take out and tell everyone, lest everyone thinks that I am trying to get credit for my work. I don't need such things as I gladly serve this community of friends that I have come to know.

And also, earlier posts in earlier pages are already outdated... no one wants to read page 4 now, do they, unless they are not regular in these forums. With that, most regulars will only need to go back a page or two to get the last read post... and the forum automation does that for you naturally as well. If you are subscribed to the thread, then it makes things even easier.

But if everyone does their part and name threads proper and not duplicate, then I would rather have more separate threads for the sake of the non regulars. I have already let four E-510 threads float, and see how that would work right?

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

So let's see how that would work... Thank you for the feedback from everyone in this community. I am not perfect and am thankful that you are contributing your views to make this community better. In time, as Four Thirds users grow, I would need more Superusers to help. I nominated drakon09 and he has been a great help, and he has also been selfless with his time dedicated to this forum. I thought I should mention him as he has contributed.

 

[microcosm]

Come to think about it, this massive E-510 thread is the merging of all "old E-510" posts that has no views for a couple of weeks, so that those who are looking to buy the E-510 later on can take their time to go through the massive thread to understand the E-510 better.

Sort of an archive for all things E-510. Would that work?

 

[Singapore21]

Attended workshop by Lei Antonio on 26/7/07
He recommends general settings for newbies as follows:
1. picture mode- vivid or natural
contrast -2
sharpness +1
saturation +1
2. graduation -normal
3. use raw
4. use iso100 where possible
5. noise filter -low or standard
6. noise reduction off
7.focus centre spot
8. S-AF
9. anti-shock on
10. AF illum on
11.color space -sRGB
12.X-sync 1/125
13,AEL/AFL memo on
14.AEL metering -spot
PS: if errors above then it is my misunderstanding.
I will e-mail him to clarify if necessary

Have seen others recommending sharpness "-1"...

 

[bousozoku]

Come to think about it, this massive E-510 thread is the merging of all "old E-510" posts that has no views for a couple of weeks, so that those who are looking to buy the E-510 later on can take their time to go through the massive thread to understand the E-510 better.

Sort of an archive for all things E-510. Would that work?

It could. I'm not sure I would merge any more threads with it, though.

I know the argument because I'm a moderator of a vBulletin site elsewhere. You spend a lot of time messing with threads and/or sending PMs to users who consistently create duplicate threads.

I certainly appreciate the issues but I generally only merge threads when they are 98 % matching.

Either way, it makes you crazy after a while.

Good luck!

 

[cjtune]

Have seen others recommending sharpness "-1"...

DPReview even recommends sharpness -2 to reduce the effects of noise when you're not using any noise filter at all (another DPReview recommendation that's in conflict with Antonio's).

Another recommendation is to take burst shoots: because I have seen that the IS can fail in the first picture of a burst-shot sequence, but subsequent ones are sharp (or at least not blur) because the IS had time to 'lock-on' to the vibrations. This means turning off 'anti-shock' (a pompous name for temporary mirror lock - not too useful for anything but tripod-mounted shots and that's also if you're kiasu about getting the best sharpness).

 

[microcosm]

Either way, it makes you crazy after a while.

Good luck!

[drooling] You have a shrink to recommend? [/drooling]

Glad to have your understanding... Let's see how it works... thanks for the understanding to this matter too... and please keep suggestions coming... it is everyone's effort and suggestions that makes this place better. It is our place... isn't it?

 

[matman]

Attended workshop by Lei Antonio on 26/7/07
He recommends general settings for newbies as follows:
1. picture mode- vivid or natural
contrast -2
sharpness +1
saturation +1
2. graduation -normal
3. use raw
4. use iso100 where possible
5. noise filter -low or standard
6. noise reduction off
7.focus centre spot
8. S-AF
9. anti-shock on
10. AF illum on
11.color space -sRGB
12.X-sync 1/125
13,AEL/AFL memo on
14.AEL metering -spot
PS: if errors above then it is my misunderstanding.
I will e-mail him to clarify if necessary

I have previously attended the E-500 workshop. From my notes, these were the exact same settings reccomended for sharpness, saturation and contrast. Hmm... Wonder if the instructor has taken into account the changes from the E-500 to E-510?

 

[bousozoku]

I handled an E-510 on Thursday, as the local camera store finally got one. I expect that the electronics stores will also get some, as they have the E-410 already.

The E-510 felt very solid (not liquid at all!) and seemed very reasonable for the price point.

I was hoping that I could buy one instead of the E-1 replacement to save money but it seems to require taking your eyes away from the viewfinder in order to change settings.

Obviously, consumers aren't going to mind as much to switch from automatic to manual focus through the LCD display and other things aren't going to bother them as much because they've dealt with the LCD for almost everything.

However, it was nice to attach my lenses and insert my CompactFlash card and use it all. Maybe, it's a nice holiday camera.

 

[nightpiper]

Having multiple threads with relating stuff is also confusing isn't it? We can go on like this forever. Anyway, its house keeping. Will think of a better way. Better to give solution than to look at problems. Everyone can see a problem, only a few good men can give a good solution... any to offer?

the way i see it, relating stuff can be kept separate, the similar stuff can be merged.

eg, "E510 IS at work" & "Is the IS in E510 effective compared to others?" this i consider similar.

"What's your E510 settings?" & "E510 DR an issue?" i see them as relating to E510 but not similar. i wud keep them separate for easy search.

also i feel the E510 is more of Oly specific than 4/3 cos most of the topics discuss r within this brand & model. unlike asking "How's 4/3 aspect ratio going to affect my printing both from home & labs?", that wud be more 4/3 specific.

of cos at the end of the day, u r the mod, u decide what keeps & what goes. Juz my 2cts.

 

[microcosm]

the way i see it, relating stuff can be kept separate, the similar stuff can be merged.

eg, "E510 IS at work" & "Is the IS in E510 effective compared to others?" this i consider similar.

"What's your E510 settings?" & "E510 DR an issue?" i see them as relating to E510 but not similar. i wud keep them separate for easy search.

also i feel the E510 is more of Oly specific than 4/3 cos most of the topics discuss r within this brand & model. unlike asking "How's 4/3 aspect ratio going to affect my printing both from home & labs?", that wud be more 4/3 specific.

of cos at the end of the day, u r the mod, u decide what keeps & what goes. Juz my 2cts.

Actually, you do make sense... but from filing point of view, I would rather keep all 4/3 consortium DSLRs in one place and their PnS in their respective sections. Else there will be three sections to choose and information will not be in one place.

As for archiving, I guess everyone will get used to it after a while. Remember how library will file their stuff? It took me a year to understand... then able to find stuff... LOL.

 

[cjtune]

Here's yet another article that evaluates the E-510's IS, and pits it against the OIS in the Leica 14-50mm. More numerically inclined, than the usual picture-to-picture comparison reviews:

http://fourthirds-user.com/2007/07/olympus_e510_image_stabilisation_examined.php

Amazing. At 1/15 sec, the result is as good as it being mounted on a tripod.
Also, I don't really agree with the author on the last graph's data being statistically insignificant. What are the odds that all 4 test shutter speed settings show the E-510 besting the 14-50mm Leica's OIS in BXU units (hmm, maybe data scatter too large?)? But practically, probably not much of a difference to the casual eye and we need to really know how BXU relates to actual human visual acuity.

 

[VSonic06]

I've had better odds capturing sharper pictures with the E-510's IS than OIS (using both simultaneously makes it worse than w/o any IS). What the article don't mention is OIS guzzles power when mounted on anything other than the Panasonic L1.

 

[cjtune]

I've had better odds capturing sharper pictures with the E-510's IS than OIS (using both simultaneously makes it worse than w/o any IS). What the article don't mention is OIS guzzles power when mounted on anything other than the Panasonic L1.

Hmm, I wonder if it's true with the Nikon and Canon VR and IS lenses too? Power guzzlers...
Any experience on the Pentax K10D's IS and its drain on battery life?

The E-510 hardly consumes that much energy. I use IS mode 1 all of the time, and just leave it on standby mode for hours on end and I can still manage 600+ shots on a single battery, no flash and minimal Liveview. Must be those SWD motors that control the IS servo in the E-510 -power efficient.

 

[drakon09]

I've had better odds capturing sharper pictures with the E-510's IS than OIS (using both simultaneously makes it worse than w/o any IS). What the article don't mention is OIS guzzles power when mounted on anything other than the Panasonic L1.

It is so because on bodies other than the L-1, the OIS can only be on the "always on" mode.

 

[VSonic06]

Hmm, I wonder if it's true with the Nikon and Canon VR and IS lenses too? Power guzzlers...
Any experience on the Pentax K10D's IS and its drain on battery life?

The E-510 hardly consumes that much energy. I use IS mode 1 all of the time, and just leave it on standby mode for hours on end and I can still manage 600+ shots on a single battery, no flash and minimal Liveview. Must be those SWD motors that control the IS servo in the E-510 -power efficient.

Both the K10D and E-510 anti-shake mechanism only kick in during exposure. Try taking a long exposure 1-2 sec shot and hear the mechanisms work. Battery life for both are about the same but the K10D's "SR" draws more current as its driven by a set of power-guzzling solenoids, which is probably why its a little more effective than E-510's IS which uses micro motors (SWD or whatever they call it...) Still, both SR/IS go easy on the battery compared to an always-running OIS whirring away whenever the camera is active.

 

[schon]

hi all, i brought this issue up during the kopi session just a few days back (well... the later part of it, at least).

it's regarding manual focusing while in live view. here's how i stumbled upon this strange characteristic of the e510, and probably the e410 as well since they're similar cameras.

on one of the nights when my brain left my head cos i was too bored, i decided to take a few shots of the moon to see if it went there on an excursion. so what i did was attach my 40-150 (the older one) to the e510, turned live view on, and zoomed in max at 150mm.

since the metering mode was set to evaluative, the detail on the moon was blown out (i.e. just a great ball of fire) and thus i set it to spot instead, and this time the desired exposure was attained (i.e. no more great ball of fire, just the moon with acne in all its glory). and so this is where the issue is - when i used the 10x enlargement feature that aids in manual focusing during live view, the camera overexposed the moon again (the exposure values didn't change, just the live feed from the live view).

therefore all i get is a big bright patch which has no detail (unlike before activating the 10x enlargement) and the problem is, how do i manual focus then if i cannot see the detail on the subject? :dunno:

you may suggest that i forget about MF-ing to my fancy via live view, and just set focus to infinity - but what if i were to shoot objects in similiar scenarios? i.e. substantially brighter object against a dark bg.

here's a short video to illustrate what i mean. (didn't have the moon tonight, the clouds ate it up.)

[vid]_2z0bsbfyIE[/vid]

video shows: desired exposure set to get the detail in lamp -> used 7x enlargement, detail blown out -> used 10x, same thing -> back to 7x, same thing -> back to normal view, and it's correctly exposed again.

i've fiddled with all the metering modes, dialed in my own exposure values in manual mode, turned live view boost on/off, but to no avail.

any ideas, anyone?

 

[drakon09]

Hmmm, I did something like this when I first got my 410 - spot metering, LV without boost, 7x zoom and manual focus. And this is what I got:

Very heavily cropped; taken at 200mm.

 

[splim]

What he meant was, when in LV x7 or x10, it is over exposed. I find that when in 7x or 10x, the brightness is auto adjusted. In his case, could be the moon did not cover the entire screen so it becomes over exposed and not able to see any details. Did your 200mm able to cover the entire screen when in LV x7 or x10 ? if so, can you see any details ?

The moon is not too bright tonight, will try when it's brighter...some other day..